A 48-year-old Pakistan preacher named Rashid Ali Siddiqui, his wife Ayesha (38) and her parents Hanif Mohammed (73) and Rubina (61) were arrested on the outskirts of Bengaluru by the authorities on 29th September. They acquired fraudulent documents and adopted Hindu names. The accused had been living in Rajapura village under the aliases Shankar Sharma, Asha Rani, Ram Babu Sharma and Rani Sharma, respectively.
They came to Delhi in 2014 and then moved to Bengaluru in 2018. The family lived in Bangladesh’s Dhaka previously. Notably, the name of a Sufi organisation “Mehdi Foundation International” surfaced as the racket was exposed.
Siddiqui had fled to Bangladesh from Pakistan after Sufis were being hounded in the country. He served as a preacher in Bangladesh and the Mehdi Foundation covered his expenses there. He then encountered similar attacks in Bangladesh in 2014 after which he contacted a man named Parvez from the foundation who assisted him and his family to move to India illegally.
They reportedly procure duplicate Aadhaar cards, passports and driving licences under a new identity as the ‘Sharma’ family. He delivered sermons on behalf of the Mehdi Foundation in Delhi.
Essentially, the Islamic preacher living illegally in India under a Hindu identity was facilitated by the Mehdi Foundation. The Foundation was also instrumental in obtaining illegal documents for the Pakistani family.
Siddiqui and his family then shifted to Bengaluru at the request of two locals, Wasim and Altaf when they asked him to preach in the city. He met the two in Nepal in 2018. He received payment from the Mehdi Foundation for his Islamic preaching on Alra TV, while Altaf handled the rent of his house.
Moreover, “Mehdi Foundation International Jashan-e-Younus” was displayed on the wall of Siddiqui’s residence.
What is Mehdi Foundation International?
Mehdi/Messiah Foundation International (MFI) formerly known as RAGS International was established by a Pakistani “spiritual” leader and author Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi who is a fifth-generation descendant of the Sufi Baba Gohar Ali Shah, in 1980. The organisation claims to be a syncretic culmination of prophecies in Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the Dharmic religions.
The founder of the foundation which facilitates illegal infiltration and arranges fake documents, Shahi, is portrayed as the messianic figure referred to as Mehdi, Messiah and Kalki Avatar in addition to the generic “Awaited One” prophesied by different faiths.
MFI was officially co-founded by Younus AlGohar, who met Shahi in 1983 and became his disciple, in 2022. He is the current head of the organisation. It also has a sister organisation named Kalki Avatar Foundation. Younus AlGohar apparently preaches religious harmony and peace and advocates against religious fanaticism. The website’s home page displays “Mehdi Foundation International: promotion of divine love and universal peace” and features symbols of several religions along with an image of Riaz Gohar Shahi.
“Mehdi/Messiah Foundation International and its sister organisation, Kalki Avatar Foundation, are interfaith, non-religious, spiritual organisations. Previously known as RAGS International (founded by His Divine Eminence Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi in 1980), MFI was formally established in 2002 by His Holiness Younus AlGohar under the guidance of His Divine Eminence,” the official website reads.
It states that members of the organisation come from a variety of religious backgrounds and “the bond of divine love and miraculous Doctrine of His Divine Eminence Lord Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi” is the resolute link between them which cuts across all religious and cultural barriers and unites the people. The website alleges that people from all walks of life work to create “widespread divine love and global peace” under the direction and guidance of the organisation.
The organisation describes itself as “a cool breeze” and “a candle of love amid stormy hatred and a torch of spirituality in the wilderness of materialism”. It further adds, “It does not surprise us when people become puzzled to see our members propagating divine love, respecting humanity, embracing the Jews, the Muslims, the Christians, the Hindus, the Sikhs and all other religions to be their spiritual brethren, but that is the Miraculous Goharian Doctrine.”
While the organisation claims that it does not associate with any religion, the organization promotes Sufism to “deradicalise” Muslims. It is crucial to keep in mind that Sufism has a very dark history in India. The most significant instance is the shocking rape case that occurred in Ajmer in 1992 in which caretakers of the renowned dargah (shrine) were involved.
The organisation was first established in London which is also its headquarters and has grown to include centres in Canada, USA, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, India, Greece, Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal among other countries. Furthermore, there’s another website by the name of mehdifoundation.com which is accessible in multiple languages including Hindi and Urdu. It also promotes similar tropes as the one by the organisation.
MFI also runs a channel named Alra TV with nearly 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 96 thousand followers on Facebook. Notably, the channel also employed Rashid Ali Siddiqui as a preacher. Interestingly, on one hand, the organisation boasts of being secular and against extremism and on the other it seems to have a soft spot for Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan who ruled over Mysore (Mysuru) and was responsible for the massacre of the people of the Hindu community.
Mehdi Foundation International Mysore posted a photograph of a yellow shirt with “Alra TV Youtube Spiritual Channel” displayed on it, in a 2019 Facebook post and wrote, “Alra TV Yellow t-shirts of MFI Mysore, Tipu Tigers,” in its caption with a smiling emoticon, insinuating the admiration for the Islamic zealot.
Notably, AlGohar was found guilty of benefit fraud in 2013. He pleaded guilty to 11 out of 12 charges of dishonesty under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and was ordered to pay a £6000 fine and perform 240 hours of community service.
Opposition to Mehdi Foundation International
The organisation has faced massive opposition and protests in multiple Muslim countries including Pakistan. Gohar Shahi and Younus AlGohar were the targets of numerous attempts on their life, one of which involved throwing a petrol bomb into AlGohar’s Manchester home, where the former stayed while on tour in the United Kingdom. In 2001, Shahi vanished from the public eye. Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam, Shahi’s second organization, was reportedly shut down and outlawed in Pakistan in 2011.
Shahi claimed to have had a meeting with Jesus Christ in 1997. According to MFI, Shahi asserts to be the Messiah, the Mahdi, and the Kalki Avatar which is a major factor behind MFI’s opposition as such statements are considered blasphemy in the Abrahamic religions, especially Islam.
Mehdi Foundation International’s president (international), Amjad Gohar, who is a Pakistani national is currently seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. There are almost twelve blasphemy charges against him. “The teachings of religious harmony and peace are now not acceptable in Pakistan society as the clerics consider it as blasphemy. What we preach is very similar to the idea of India where it accepts and respects all religions,” he stated in an interview with The Indian Express.
“I have come to know about the arrests and we do not support those who break the law. But also, one has to understand that the members have fled Pakistan only when it became very hard for them to survive. I would request the Indian government not to deport them to Pakistan as they would be killed. They should allow them to live in India or help them till they find a country to stay,” he claimed while responding to the arrest of Rashid Ali Siddiqui and his family.
Conclusion
Mehdi Foundation International may profess to promote Sufism and religious tolerance, but it is impossible to ignore the reality that its members allowed a Pakistani family to enter India illegally, posing a serious threat to the security of the already vulnerable country which has been suffering terrorist attacks by the neighbouring Islamic Republic for decades. The organisation’s members not only enabled the Pakistanis to infiltrate India but even created fake documents and identities for them to stay in the country for a decade.
Interestingly, while the organisation claims to be syncretic, there seems to be no apparent evidence that they have supported Hindus from Pakistan, who are at the receiving end of true intolerance and have been ethnically cleansed for decades.
One has to wonder how many similar rackets are facilitated by the members of this organisation and others like MFI. These are important issues that need to be considered and addressed, and such criminal components need to be treated strictly by the law to ensure the safety and protection of the nation.
